YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Another fantastic interview. One of the coolest things about MIHH is what comes out of people when they really open up about what goes on in their heads. I've listened to Alison before on the Adam Carolla Show and I always knew she was smart and talented and funny, but, well, I guess I forgot that things like anxiety and insecurity can get to anyone. I should know by now from listening to other episodes that even people in show business, even people who are successful, even people who on paper seem to have their shit together, often have major battles going on in their heads.

Thanks a million to Alison and Paul for giving of themselves to the growing* community of podcast listeners here. Thank you so much for pointing out that there are a lot of people who have a strong sense that they're "not okay," but don't have anything super obvious in their past to point to that made them that way. On a personal note, thank you for reminding us that there is hope for those of us who have had trouble maintaining close healthy relationships.

Dan

*By the way, Paul, in my opinion you can take great pride in the fact that this podcast is growing every week despite the ever-growing number of podcasts in the world. That means you're doing something right! I hope that the podcast continues to be as rewarding for you as it is to us.

I loved this interview with dear Alison. I love her on Adam Carolla's podcast. She is willing to roll with whatever Adam says and she comes up with some funny lines. She also has a sexy voice and a sardonic wit. I was glad to learn more about her and her upbringing. I knew her parents were close to her and came to many of her live events with Adam but I was curious as to why. Thanks to Paul's revealing interview with her I now feel like I understand her parents a little better and maybe my own a little better too. I think I grew up with lies too and parents that were very defensive of their parenting. They still are and it has ultimately hindered my adult relationship with them, especially my mom. But like Alison's folks, they have always been good to me and supported me. But I think their motivation has been NOT to be as bad as their parents were rather than being really loving of me. Its a small point but important in understanding them. Thanks for having Alison on and thanks for this helpful podcast!

Great interview. She seems like a kind, thoughtful and introspective person.

I was also touched that she is a fan of the MIHH podcast.

hmmm.... I have to say Alison comes across as really nice, and this might be a Happy Hour, but where's the Mental Illness? After the stories we have heard from other guests, this episode has the hallmarks of poor little rich girl wants to join the party. She constantly mentions (on Carolla's show) positive interactions with her supportive parents... I'm confused by this.

Well, she definitely grew up exposed to a certain amount of mental illness, given the amount of lies that her parents told her. At the very least it was dysfunctional.

"...an hour of honesty about all the battles in our heads, from medically diagnosed conditions to everyday compulsive negative thinking."

I agree to some extent that it is confusing. I'm a guy whose life, by all the measures people commonly use, should have turned out amazing. You might say that I have "no excuse" for being chronically, severely depressed and very, very anxious. I don't get it either. But denying that I had a problem because I couldn't understand what "caused" it kept from getting any real help for many years. That's not good. Obvious trauma or obviously bad parenting are not prerequisites for having a battle in a person's head. Although I do have tremendous empathy for anyone who has been mistreated in those ways.

If a particular guest's story doesn't speak to you, that's fine. But let's not get into the business of saying certain people's problems don't count because of this or that.

dare i say it / Dan wrote:If a particular guest's story doesn't speak to you, that's fine. But let's not get into the business of saying certain people's problems don't count because of this or that.

Yeah, my usual reaction to a MentalPod show is feeling ashamed for not having really having any problems in my past. Then I remind myself that is not the purpose of the show.

All the best, cheers!

I find Alison Rosen to be an extremely self-centered person. Of course, her grandmother's Shoah experience caused a lot of disfunction in the family, and that pain has very real effects even on the grandchildren of survivors.

To me, she seems like a teenager in terms of maturity. Everything she talks about revolves around her; how she feels, her problems, her insecurities. I've heard her on the Adam Carolla show and I've looked at her website. Wow! She talks mostly about herself. She even said in one video log how it hurts her when people make comments about her thick legs and that she was always an outsider. Okay, fair enough, but she then reads gossip about celebs. I read that she even asked Ed Koch if he was gay. That question only could make him feel uncomfortable.

I find that really hypocritical, but I guess nobody else does.